State v. Persinger

Miller, Chief Justice:

The defendant, Dana Persinger, was convicted by a jury of third degree sexual assault in the Circuit Court of Preston County in June of 1977. His primary grounds of error are a constitutional challenge to our rape shield statute, W. Va. Code, 61-8B-12, and the voluntariness of his confession. Other errors involve evidentiary points and the sufficiency of the indictment.

On April 21, 1977, the victim was living with her cousin, the defendant, and his wife and infant child in Preston County, West Virginia. The victim testified that she had lived with the Persingers for…